OLYMPICS: CricInfo.com co-Founder & Chair ALEXBALFOUR has joined London 2012 as Head of New Media. Balfour will be responsible for London2012.com and will lead development of digital technologies (London 2012)....IOC VP CHIHARUIGAYA will Chair the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2014 Winter Olympics (IOC).

FRANCHISES: NHL Panthers GM MIKEKEENAN has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Coach JACQUESMARTIN has assumed the GM duties (Panthers). Owner ALAN COHEN “is said to have tried to talk Keenan out of leaving” (MIAMI HERALD, 9/4).... WNBA Mercury GM SETHSULKA has stepped down (Mercury).... Celtics Dir of Community Relations WAYNELEVY left the team after 19 years to become President of Boston-based non-profit organization Metro Lacrosse (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/3).

EXECS: CSTV named BOBROSE Exec VP/Distribution. Rose was Court TV Exec VP/Affiliate Relations until Turner Broadcasting acquired the net (CABLEFAX DAILY, 9/6)....Nets Sports & Entertainment President & CEO BRETTYORMARK has joined the AVP’s BOD (AVP)....Former Jets defensive coordinator TEDCOTTRELL is “working in the NFL office as the appeals officer on player fines” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/3)....Agent COLINSMEETON is leaving Blue Equity to join PERRYROGERS’ Las Vegas-based Agassi Enterprises, where he will help manage golfer ADAMSCOTT. The firm represents only one athlete per sport, but with ANDREAGASSI’s retirement, it is not clear whether Rogers would take on an active tennis player (THE DAILY).

Prosecutors have agreed “not to seek imprisonment” of S.F. Chronicle
reporters MARK FAINARU-WADA and LANCE WILLIAMS until the Ninth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals “rules on their right to withhold confidential
sources of grand jury testimony” in the BALCO case. The reporters “have
agreed not to oppose prosecutors’ requests to hold them in contempt of court.”
They said that they “were making the concession to move the case into the
appeals court on an expedited basis.” The appeal could take about a year
(N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/6).

Schwarzenegger Eyes NASCARFans In Mid-Term Elections

SPORTS & POLITICS:PRESIDENT BUSH hosted members of
the MLB Cardinals on Tuesday in the Oval Office. Attendees included Chair BILL
DEWITT JR. and manager TONY LA RUSSA, as well as other coaches and
five players (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/6)....California Gov. ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER attended the NASCAR Nextel Cup Sony HD 500 on Sunday. In S.F.,
Carla Marinucci noted a Zogby Int’l poll last month “showed a dramatic
swing in NASCAR voter sentiments” from ’05. NASCAR voters are now
“nearly evenly split in their preferences for Democratic and Republican
congressional candidates in the fall” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/4).

MARKET RESEARCH: adidas Brand President & CEO ERICH STAMMINGER
and London 2012 Marketing Dir DAVID MAGLIANO were two of the three “CMO
OF THE YEAR” award recipients at the GLOBAL MARKETING SUMMIT.
Stamminger won for branding and Magliano for services. The awards were organized
by AD AGE and German trade HORIZONT (AD AGE, 9/4 issue).

IN MEMORY:MONTYSTICKLES, a former broadcaster
for the Raiders and Univ. of California, died Sunday at Kaiser Permanente Medical
Center-Oakland at the age of 68 after a brief illness (CONTRA COSTA TIMES,
9/6).